“Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” a national traveling exhibition which focuses on Abraham Lincoln’s struggle to meet the constitutional challenges of the Civil War, opens at the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library on May 13th and ends on June 26th.
Abraham Lincoln was elected the sixteenth President of the United States in 1860, at a time when the nation was falling apart. By the time he took the oath of office, seven states had already seceded from the Union. The exhibition vividly evokes Lincoln’s struggle to resolve the basic questions that divided Americans at the most perilous moment in the nation’s history: Was the United States truly one nation, or was it a confederacy of sovereign and separate states? How could a country founded on the belief that “all men are created equal” tolerate slavery? In a national crisis, would civil liberties be secure?
The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the exhibit with the help of a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center.
The Augusta-Richmond County Public Library is offering free programs and other events for the public in connection with the exhibition. Please call 706-826-1511 for details, or visit www.arcpls.org

April is National Poetry Month, so the Georgia Heritage Room today honors Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Steven Vincent Benet, who was born in 1898, and spent his early years living in the Benet House, built sometime between 1827 and 1829 and serving as officer’s quarters at the old arsenal. The house was named for Steven Vincent Benet’s father, Col. James Walker Benet.

The Georgia Heritage Room is celebrating National Library Week with an exhibit highlighting the history of the Augusta Public Library. The exhibit is located on the third floor of the headquarters library at 823 Telfair Street.

The eighteenth century origin of the Augusta Library is a bit convoluted, but sometime between the two recorded dates of 1732 and 1750, Augusta, Georgia saw the formation of its first public library. In the early 1830s a number of wealthy benefactors from Britain donated books for a public library in the colony, many of which arrived on the ship, Charming Nancy. In Augusta, public sentiment was high for the formation of a library, and by 1750, Augusta had ten titles listed in the Catalogue of Augusta’s First Library, for public use.

Several groups and societies were involved in the early establishment of the public library; among them, The Augusta Library Society (1730), and The Thespian Society and Library Company of Augusta (1808), but finally in 1848, with the formation of the Young Men’s Library Association, Augusta’s first official public library was opened. The Young Men’s Library Association and Reading Room was opened on March 13, 1848. By 1855, the library housed 2,000 volumes, which had grown to 12,000 by 1908. Until 1926, when the library was moved into the Old Richmond Academy Building, several locations were home to the growing collection, and sadly the library was temporarily closed in 1906 due to a lack of funding.

The library remained in the Richmond Academy Building until 1960 when all 103,542 volumes were moved to the newly constructed midcentury modern facility designed by architects, Eve and Stulb, on the corner of 9th and Greene Streets. Finally, the library had a permanent home, until June 25, 2010 when it was moved to its present location on Telfair Street.

In honor of National Library Week, Sunday, April 12-Satuday, April 18, 2015, the Georgia Heritage Room is hosting an exhibit honoring the history of the Augusta Public Library. The display is located on the third floor of the Headquarters Library at 823 Telfair Street.

Catalogue of Augusta’s First Library199 Years of Augusta’s Library by Berry Fleming

Common Prayer Books, 22 copiesCompanion of the Sick, 12 copiesDuty of Man, 13 copiesFaith and Practice of a Church of England Man, 12 copiesHelp and Guide to Christian Families, 20 copiesHow to Walk with God, 50 copiesSpelling Books, 12 copiesThe Great Importance of a Religious Life Considered, 6 copiesThe Young Christian Instructed, 12 copies

On exhibit through April, a collection of St. John United Methodist Church historic and current documents highlighting its founding in 1798 as the first Methodist church in Augusta, Georgia to the present.

Preserving Memories: Heritage Scrapbooking ClassMonday, April 272:00 pm
In honor of Preservation Week, April 26-May 2, the Georgia Heritage Room will offer a scrapbooking workshop with the Library’s own, Aspasia Luster. Learn artful ways of preserving old family pictures, memorabilia and documents within the pages of a beautiful scrapbook. Some supplies included, but feel free to bring your own. This class is limited to ten participants, so call to register (706) 826-1511.

An Ecological History of the Savannah River ValleySaturday, April 25 1:00 pm
Carol Eldridge of the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory will be here to present a program on the natural history and ecology of the CSRA. She will discuss major habitats of the area, including, wetlands, bottomland hardwood forests, and sand hills. Accompanying Ms. Eldridge will be several live animals native to the various habitats. Great program for the whole family! The event is free and open to the public. Please call (706) 826-1511 for details.

The Georgia Heritage Room regrets to announce that the program FROM DEVIANCE TO DEATH ROW: A HISTORY OF WOMEN’S IMPRISONMENT scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, 19th at 2:00 pm has been cancelled due to illness. The program will be rescheduled so please stay tuned.

The Paine College History Club will host its annual Living History Re-enactments on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at the historic Cedar Grove Cemetery. This year’s participants will present noted African Americans from the CSRA like Amanda Dickson-Toomer, one of the wealthiest black women in the late 19th century, and other prominent local figures in African-American history like Rev. Dr. C.T. Walker and Dr. T.W. Josey. “We ar…e excited to host this re-enactment that showcases important figures in African-American history,” said Triest Fisher, president of the Paine College History Club. “Each made significant contributions to our community and we welcome everyone to join us for this event.”

Tours are scheduled for 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Admission is free. Cedar Grove Cemetery is located at 120 Watkins St.

Don’t forget to join us in the main auditorium of the Headquarters Library on Saturday at 11:00 am for SLAVES SONGS OF AUGUSTA, presented by Robert Hester with musical accompaniment by local African-American choral group Creative Impressions.